Renewable Energy and the U.S. Power Grid

Utah's 10-Year Energy Plan

Will renewable energy take over the electrical grid? Some seem to think so, and not just those who are in the business of selling the benefits of going green. A report by Edison Electric Institute (EEI), and executives at NRG Energy and Pacific Gas & Electric explains why this could be the case as renewable energy has been getting closer and closer to being competitive with conventional fossil fuels. New technology is being developed, new ways of storing intermittent sources (such as wind and sun) are being found, and greater use of renewable energy is being promoted by the U.S. Government through grants.

In Utah, Governor Herbert's 10-Year Energy Plan has identified goals to help move the state forward with innovative energy development.

Through the Recovery Act Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant (EECBG), the Utah State Energy Office is managing funds to improve energy efficiency and reduce total energy use and fossil fuel emissions in communities while directing all of its State Energy Program funding to local city and county governments that did not receive direct EECBG grants from the Department of Energy.

To name a few, the Utah State Energy Program has used grant funds to support the “Solar for Schools” program, a statewide energy education initiative that will install 73 solar panels at schools throughout the state, with at least one display in each of the state’s districts. The program has also built a demonstration house that is being used in training workers to find ways to make homes of low-income residents more energy efficient. And along with the grant and UAMPS, a nonprofit agency based in Salt Lake City, 14 rural communities across the state have replaced streetlights with efficient LEDs.

To read more about the 10-year Energy Program, see here.

To read more about the “Economics of Renewable Energy”, see the report from the National Bureau of Economic Research.

BLM land order clears way for additional solar energy development on public lands

In early July, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) announced the withdrawal of lands identified for solar energy development in the West from new mining claims that could impede development of solar energy sites. Public Land Order No. 7818 (PLO 7818) withdraws 303,900 acres of land within 17 Solar Energy Zones in Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah.

Under the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976, BLM is charged with managing the public lands for multiple uses. BLM manages more than 245 million acres of public land, land known as the "National System of Public Lands." The National System of Public Lands are primarily located in 12 Western states, including Alaska. BLM also administers 700 million acres of sub-surface mineral estate throughout the nation. BLM recently confirmed that in Fiscal Year 2012 activities on public lands generated $4.6 billion in revenue, much of which was shared with the states where the activities occurred. In addition, it reported that public lands contributed more than $112 billion to the U.S. economy and helped support more than 500,000 jobs.


In October 2012, the Department of the Interior established the Solar Energy Zones as part of a western solar plan that provides a road map for utility-scale solar energy development on lands managed by the BLM in Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah. According to BLM, the "Solar Energy Zones encompass the lands most suitable for solar energy development because of their excellent solar resources, access to existing or planned transmission, and relatively low conflict with biological, cultural and historic resources." Since 2009, BLM has approved right-of-way applications for 25 solar energy development projects with planned total capacity of over 8,000 megawatts, or enough to power over 2.4 million homes. PLO 7818 withdraws the public lands encompassed by Solar Energy Zones for 20 years from potentially conflicting uses, including mining, subject to valid existing use rights, and opens the door to additional solar energy development projects in these states. Association of Corporate Counsel

The rise of the intangible economy: U.S. GDP counts R&D, artistic creation

On July 31, the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis will rewrite history on a grand scale by restating the size and composition of the gross domestic product, all the way back to the first year it was recorded, 1929. The biggest change will be the reclassification—nay, the elevation—of research and development. R&D will no longer be treated as a mere expense, like the electricity bill or food for the company cafeteria. It will be categorized on the government’s books as an investment, akin to constructing a factory or digging a mine. In another victory for intellectual property, original works of art such as films, music, and books will be treated for the first time as long-lived assets.

The BEA has the 20th century economy down cold. It can tell you about personal income trends in Anchorage, Alaska, or America’s annual output of rubber products and plastics. Now the agency is putting more attention on R&D—the lifeblood of the 21st century economy—by moving it from an experimental “satellite” account into the heart of measured GDP.



GDP is the main yardstick of macroeconomics—the sum total of all goods and services produced in the country. Business R&D was never counted in that total. It was considered an expense, an “intermediate input,” that ate into profit. Intangible investments such as R&D and the creation of artistic originals have been like physicists’ dark matter: influential but invisible. As Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said in a 2011 speech, “We will be more likely to promote innovative activity if we are able to measure it more effectively and document its role in economic growth.”

The effect of the revision will be immediate. Measured GDP will get a one-time boost of about 2.7 percent when the government starts counting R&D and artistic creation as investments. (New Mexico and Maryland will get the biggest lifts.) The future growth rate will probably be fractionally higher, too. With R&D treated as an investment, measured economic growth from 1959 to 2007 would have been 3.39 percent annually instead of 3.32 percent, the BEA estimates. Bloomberg Businessweek

The rising dollar: Green and back

Visitors to America this summer will find their money does not stretch quite as far as on previous trips. The dollar has risen this year against a broad range of currencies, so holiday purchases will be a bit pricier than usual. A strengthening dollar is a rare thing. The upward bursts in the early 1980s and the late 1990s were deviations from a generally falling trend. Since it was freed from the Bretton Woods system of fixed exchange rates four decades ago, the dollar has mostly fallen in value against other rich-world currencies. But a growing band of analysts reckon it is time for the greenback to regain a bit of lost ground.

The immediate spur for optimism about the dollar is the recent signalling from the Federal Reserve that its purchases of bonds with newly created money may start to tail off as soon as September. The prospect of an end to quantitative easing has already pushed up long-term interest rates. The yield on ten-year Treasuries has risen to 2.6% from a low of 1.6% in May. As yields rise, capital is attracted to America from riskier parts of the world. That in turn pushes up the dollar. The Economist

Utah is one of 38 states to receive grant for re‐employment and eligibility assessments

The U.S. Department of Labor today awarded approximately $64.3 million to 38 states, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands and the District of Columbia to implement or continue re-employment and eligibility assessments for individuals who receive unemployment benefits. Utah will receive $711,343.

“The grants announced today will help individuals and families facing unemployment get back to work quickly,” said acting Secretary of Labor Seth D. Harris. “This is a win-win-win for those looking for work, employers who want to pay less taxes and states struggling to control their budgets.”

The funds will be used to provide UI beneficiaries with personalized, re-employment plans based on the claimant’s career interests and local labor market information. These assessments are done in-person and participants will receive referrals to re-employment services and/or training provided by the American Job Center. The program will also allow for a complete review of the claimants eligibility for UI benefits, to help reduce incidences of improper payments. KCSG Television

Senate immigration bill would remake economy

Landmark immigration legislation passed by the Senate would remake America’s workforce from the highest rungs to the lowest, bringing more immigrants into numerous sectors of the economy, from elite technology companies to restaurant kitchens and rural fields.

In place of the unauthorized workers now commonly found laboring in lower-skilled jobs in the agriculture or service industries, many of these workers would be legal, some of them permanent resident green card holders or even citizens. Salt Lake Tribune

Utah lawmakers debate how to turn education into jobs

S.B. 169 Education Task Force was passed and signed, March of 2013. One of the task force’s duties is to make recommendations on the alignment of both public education and higher education with the state’s economic development goals and workforce needs, according to last meeting’s agenda. The Department of Workforce Services and the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce described methods of forecasting the number and types of occupations and the educational demand corresponding to those occupations.

In a presentation from the Department of Workforce Services, John Krantz, a research economist for the department presented Occupational Projections and Education Requirements. Krantz explained both the Bureau of Labor Statistics and DWS’ approach to long-term occupational projection methodology and determination of education levels by occupation.

To see this presentation, click here.

For more meeting information, see the Utah State Legislature website.

Utah program helps small businesses with hiring, training costs

Hiring qualified people is a challenge facing virtually every company in Utah. Being able to afford to train them can be especially difficult, particularly for a recently launched startup, given today’s prevailing economic conditions.

Nate Johns, chief financial officer for Arches Health Plan — a nonprofit, member-run health insurance provider located in Salt Lake City — has learned that lesson firsthand. For years, he was his own boss as an entrepreneur operating a payroll company and had also been an accounting executive in his previous career.

When the chance came to move into the expanding health care industry last November, he felt it was too good to pass up.

Johns was one of the first people in his company to participate in the Utah Department of Workforce Services’ Small Business Bridge Program when he received training on new federal health care accounting regulations. He said the training helped him to better understand the rules pertaining to his position as CFO of a health insurance company under the Affordable Care Act.

The program is funded by the Unemployment Insurance Special Administrative Fund. During 2012, applications from 133 small businesses were approved, which are scheduled to create 659 new jobs, Hart said. This year, 51 applications have been approved, creating 250 jobs. The 2013 program year will continue until Feb. 28, 2014, or until all funding has been obligated. Deseret News

Poverty committee begins trek for solutions

During its first meeting of the Intergenerational Poverty Advisory Committee, they discussed getting others involved, creating focus groups and providing social training to help end poverty. The committee is composed of members of advocacy groups, academic experts, faith-based organizations and local government representatives that focus on childhood poverty or education.

The meeting began with introductions and a review of the 2012 Intergenerational Poverty Report which shows that 364,822 people — or 13.2 percent the state's population — live in poverty. The number of children in poverty is 136,751, or 16 percent of Utah's child population. 

One of the major discussions of the meeting was the need for more information and statistics so the committee knows what works in overcoming intergenerational poverty. Deseret News

Analysis of the public lands debate in Utah

Deseret News

The federal government owns around 635 million acres, or 28% of the land comprising the United States. Within Utah, nearly 67% of the state’s total acreage, or 35 million acres, is owned by the federal government. Throughout the nation’s history, groups have debated who should control this land and how it should be managed. In 2012, the Utah State Legislature passed the Transfer of Public Lands Act (TPLA), which demands the United States transfer an estimated 20 million acres of public lands to the State of Utah before December 31, 2014.

Supporters of the TPLA argue that increased economic activity on public lands would solve the state’s education funding problems. However, this argument does not consider the history of education funding in Utah. In 1995, Utah had the seventh highest funding effort for K-12 education in the country. Since that time, the funding effort has steadily declined, and Utah now ranks 32nd. Education funding in Utah is low because of changes to property taxes in Utah and the way education funds are dedicated. Access to federal land may not be the reason for Utah’s low education funding, but greater economic activity on those lands could provide new sources of funding that would benefit education. Utah Foundation

Salt Lake software firm now supplying military investigators

Software designed to receive and manage anonymous crime tips and developed by a Draper company is now in use by two of the three major United States military investigative services. TipSoft, an online and mobile program for information and intelligence gathering, is a product of PublicEngines Inc.

TipSoft allows organizations to receive and manage anonymous tips through the Web, small message service (SMS), or mobile platforms such as iOS and Android devices. It is one of several products from PublicEngines, a provider of cloud-based products that facilitate crime analysis, supply actionable intelligence and increase community engagement for law enforcement, schools and governments.

Launched 14 years ago, TipSoft has seen some impressive success within the nearly 1,000 agencies that now use it. PublicEngines recently announced that 3 million tips have been processed through its software.

According to statistics released by PublicEngines, public use of TipSoft has resulted in the recovery of $60 million in cash, the seizure of $2.6 billion in drugs and the recovery of more than 11,000 stolen vehicles. More than 14,000 tip calls are currently being transferred each month through TipSoft. In addition, nearly 5,000 text tips and 10,000 Web tips are processed monthly, according to PublicEngines data. The Enterprise

New Design Streamlines Services and Features

Job seeking Utahns will find a new online interface at jobs.utah.gov following a redesign of the Department of Workforce Services’ website.

The new web design creates a more user-friendly experience, increases efficiency with a more targeted approach to job-seeking, and is entirely compatible with mobile devices. Whether users are on a desktop, tablet, or smartphone, jobs.utah.gov will run smoothly to connect them with job information.

Customers will be able to seamlessly search and apply for jobs, find an employment center nearby, and access extensive labor market information and other services more easily than before. The new site is also more interactive, highlighting improved integration with social media outlets.

Jobs.utah.gov receives an average of 1.2 million total visits per month from 500,000 unique visitors. Over the past year, the site facilitated 11.7 million job referrals. The number of people accessing the site with mobile devices grew from 12 percent in January 2012 to 23 percent in April 2013.

See the new design and learn more about the Department of Workforce Services at jobs.utah.gov.

Where Are U.S. Women in 2013?

Women make up more than 50 percent of the U.S. population and more than 49 percent of the workforce, yet they still hold a disproportionately small number of leadership roles in both the public and private sector. At every level of government across America, women are underrepresented. The United States ranks nearly 70th out of 188 countries in terms of women elected to national offices, having dropped down from 57th in November 2004.

While there is room for more research on how women in leadership roles affect policy outcomes, the advancement of women in our workplaces has had clear benefits for our economy and nation. Studies have shown that Fortune 500 corporations with more women on their boards perform better financially and that hedge funds run by women also outperform the industry standard. But right now, of the 1,000 CEOs leading our nation’s largest businesses, only 42—4.2 percent—are women.

Furthermore, women are more likely to work in many of the low-wage, service-sector jobs that underpin much of our economy. Women make up 54 percent of all service-sector workers and77 percent of all education and health-service workers. This includes 80 percent of those in health care and social-assistance jobs, and more than 80 percent of workers in nursing and residential-care facilities. As these occupations are some of the fastest-growing jobs in our economy, it is important to pause and take note of not just the absolute gains women are making in employment, but the ways in which they are being represented and empowered—or disempowered—at every level. Center for American Progress

State labor legislation enacted in 2012

The most active areas of state legislation in 2012 were child labor, equal employment opportunity, human trafficking, immigration legislation, independent contractors, wages paid, time off, unfair labor practices, and worker privacy. State legislative activity in these and more than 20 additional areas resulted in enactment of new legislation and amendments or revisions to existing statutes or regulations.
Last year, Utah enacted 4 labor related laws including:

• H.B. 97, Racketeering Amendment, modifying the criminal code regarding offenses that constitute racketeering by a pattern of unlawful activity;
• H.B. 121, Disabled Law Enforcement Officer Amendments, modifying the Utah State Personnel Management Act by amending provisions related to leave of absence benefits for a law enforcement officer who is disabled in the line of duty;
• S.B. 99, Employment Amendments, prohibiting a municipality or county from enacting or enforcing an ordinance that establishes, mandates, or requires a private employer to establish or offer an employee benefit.;
• H.B. 22, Centralized New Hire Registry Act Amendments, modifying an employer's reporting requirements under the Centralized New Hire Registry Act

 Bureau of Labor Statistics

Tomorrow, March 14th is the last day of Utah’s 2013session. For current legislation issues, see more here.

'Zion curtain' bill passes House, advances to Senate

A bill that would allow restaurants to tear down the so-called "Zion curtain" intended to shield customers from the preparation of alcoholic drinks passed the House on Tuesday without debate.

Rep. Ryan Wilcox, R-Odgen, said he came up with the idea for HB228 after seeing the required barrier at a restaurant and learning the 2009 law mandating customers not see drinks being poured or mixed only applied to restaurants licensed after that date.

Wilcox said an estimated 80 percent to 90 percent of restaurants have not had to erect a 7-foot tall barrier while those that have are typically smaller establishments. If lawmakers are treating some restaurants differently, Wilcox told his fellow representatives, "we're not doing our job."

He also noted the barrier has been the subject of a number of national news stories, the kind of publicity that he said hurts tourism.

"We spend a lot of time and money on tourism advertising in Utah to draw people here," Wilcox said.
The bill passed the House 63-11 and now goes to the Senate. Deseret News

Legislature studies 'local option' gas tax

Fuel-efficient vehicles, including hybrids and natural gas vehicles, help reduce pollution and can save drivers money at the pump — but they are also causing a nationwide concern as state governments attempt to make up for lost gas tax revenue.

Several studies, including one from Cambridge Energy Research Associates, shows America’s appetite for oil waning. Since a peak demand in 2007, demand of oil in America has been steadily and dramatically declining, with an expected continual drop of at least 7 percent over the next quarter century. While various factors can be attributed to this phenomena — including an aging population that is driving less —the main factor is that vehicles are becoming more fuel efficient.

According to J.P. Powers and Associates, fuel efficiency is the number one factor people take into consideration when purchasing a vehicle.

The problem comes from the fact that revenue from the 24.5-cent state gasoline tax used for repairing and maintaining roads — called the B and C fund — has been dropping, along with gas purchases. That means less money for the roads. These funds are not used on new projects, but to maintain current roads.

B and C road funds are collected by the state and distributed to counties and municipalities based on miles of road and population. In 2012, Utah spent $124 million for B and C road funds, of which approximately $1.5 million went to Iron County, $1.3 million went to Washington County and $1.5 million went to Garfield County.

With budgets shrinking, the state legislature is mulling ideas to raise more money for roads, including the possibility of a local option gas tax.

Iron County Commissioner Alma Adams said at Monday’s county commission meeting that such a program would see counties and cities opting into a tax to the tune of 5 to 10 cents per gallon. If they opt in, they would get an additional 10 percent in funding while they would lose 20 percent of funding if they opt out.



County Commissioner Dale Brinkerhoff suggested that increasing the tax on natural gas vehicles could be a better alternative. Currently natural gas is taxed at 8.5 cents per gallon as opposed to gasoline’s 24.5 cents per gallon.

Cedar City resident Ryan Gunn believes an increase in price at the pump for natural gas vehicles wouldn’t make it worthwhile to own one, citing increased costs when it comes to initial purchase price, conversion prices and maintenance.

While the final solution may not be popular, Kevin Kitchen, public information officer for the Utah Department of Transportation said something will need to happen to reverse the trend.

“We will do what the legislators tell us,” Kitchen said. “This is a problem every (department of transportation) across the country is facing.” The Spectrum

Postal Service hiring assistant carriers throughout Utah

The U.S. Postal Service plans to hire approximately 200 city carrier assistant to deliver mail at post offices in Utah.

Starting pay for the non-career positions begins at $15 an hour. Benefits include vacation days, salary increases and the eventual opportunity to enroll in a health benefit plan. The position may also lead to possible future employment as a full-time city carrier with career status.

Appoints are for 360 consecutive days and applicants must be able to work a flexible schedule Monday through Saturday. The number of hours worked will depend upon mail volume.

Current openings are now being posted and those who would like to apply for a position must do so online at the Postal Service’s website.

All applicants must be at least age 18 at the time of hire and be a U.S. citizen or have permanent alien status. Carrier positions require a valid driver’s license and a minimum of two years documented driving experience. Salt Lake Tribune

Lawmakers tackle Utah’s large class sizes

Class size is one of Utahns’ biggest complaints about their schools, with students sometimes crammed into rooms of 30 and even 40 kids.

It’s not an easy issue to solve in a state with the lowest per-pupil funding in the nation — but that doesn’t mean lawmakers won’t give it another try this year.

The House Education Committee is scheduled Monday to discuss HB318, which would cap class sizes in kindergarten through third grade. The bill would limit kindergarten classes to 20 students starting next school year; first-grade classes to 22 students the next year; second-grade classes to 22 the year after that; and third-grade classes to 24 kids starting in the 2016-2017 school year.

Districts could meet those requirements by hiring more teachers or teacher’s aides, known as paraprofessionals, to work with educators, driving down student-to-adult ratios.

However, the bill would not give schools any additional money. Schools would be expected to use class size reduction money they already receive, and they could actually lose that money if they fail to shrink classrooms.

Bill sponsor Rep. Rebecca Edwards, R-North Salt Lake, said reducing class sizes in the early grades is important if the state is going meet its educational goals.

Edwards said her bill would hold schools accountable for using the funding they already receive — more than $100 million this fiscal year —to help reduce class sizes. A 2007 legislative audit showed that $460 million allocated over seven years hadn’t led to any change, though some have said class sizes would have been even larger if not for that money.

Plus, she said, the class size reduction money school districts already get rises with per pupil spending, meaning schools will get more over time. And her bill would allow districts and charters to use some of those funds for construction to help further reduce class sizes. Salt Lake Tribune

Protecting Hill Air Force Base — Utah style

Many in Davis and Weber Counties are closely watching the budget drama playing out in Washington, D.C. and the clock ticking down on the automatic spending cuts that could deeply impact Hill Air Force Base.

The base is the sixth-largest employer in the state and the largest single site employer with 22,000 employees, of which 63 percent are civilian employees. The impact to the state’s economy from the base is huge, $3 billion, and obviously that impact is felt mostly in Davis and Weber counties.

As a state, our hands are tied when it comes to the federal funds that support the base. There isn’t much we can do to protect Hill AFB from federal budget cuts except to urge our leaders in Washington to take responsible budget actions. However, together with my legislative colleagues from Weber and Davis counties, we are taking action to make Hill AFB as attractive and viable as possible by making it a center for aerospace technology. We can’t control the federal funds that go directly to the base, but we can enhance the supporting infrastructure surrounding the base that gives it technological synergy and relevance.

Unlike other states, Hill AFB is surrounded by supportive communities and has tremendous state support. One of the important local projects is the Falcon Hill development. Falcon Hill National Aerospace Research Park is the Air Force’s largest enhanced use lease office park project. This project allows the Air Force to take underutilized land and lease it to a developer offering general public accessibility. Over the past six years in support of this development, the state has funded over $18.7 million in transportation and infrastructure upgrades. We are working to appropriate additional funds this year for redevelopment projects at the North Gate.


A significant portion of the Falcon Hill land contains World War II area storage buildings that over time were converted into offices buildings. After 70 years of use the buildings now pose maintenance, energy, parking and safety problems. They needed to be replaced, but because of budget constraints, the Air Force prioritized runways and hangers, not office buildings.

By leasing this underutilized land to a commercial developer, the Air Force receives revenues it can use to construct new or, repair and maintain other aging infrastructure on Hill AFB. Plus, such commercial buildings on federal land are subject to property tax. These buildings house commercial businesses that generate other tax revenues and add to Northern Utah’s economic growth and job opportunities.

Today, Falcon Hill has its first commercial office building housing the ICBM support contractor’s workforce and meets all the latest anti-terrorism force protection standards and design features. This is the first building of a future complex of five government and commercial facilities that brings together the Air Force and its support contractor side by side.

The state and local communities were able to partner and support this project by helping fund the road construction necessary to access the new commercial space. Particularly at the West Gate entrance to the base, the state’s support has been critical. Not only has the base received a new structure that incorporates the latest threat protection features, its new location allowed for transportation improvements to Northern Utah. Early morning backups onto the freeway no longer happen, with the resulting elimination of a serious transportation safety issue.

This development is a model for the rest of the country because it ensures even greater focus of resources in the future. A large component of the activities on the base is in high technology. We can do more than just protect the existing jobs at Hill AFB, we can grow new opportunities around the base that put the future of Hill AFB; and the related jobs in our hands instead of the federal governments. Standard Examiner

DWS NEWS: Response to Audit

Utah’s state auditor recently issued a press release summarizing Dept. of Workforce Services (DWS) audit results in key compliance areas. DWS administrators acknowledge room for improvement, but feel the report ignores the agency’s record of consistently more accurate and streamlined processes. “DWS fosters an environment of constant improvement for both our employees and our outcomes,” said Executive Director Jon Pierpont. “Our operational excellence strategies target areas where we know we can do better, but our record of improvement and quality outcomes should not be minimized or overlooked.”

Pierpont added, “The auditor’s unusual statement ignores significant trends of improvement in virtually every program audited, fails to distinguish between internal procedural errors and customer compliance accuracy, and fails to acknowledge the extraordinary performance in the other programs audited. Perhaps most disappointing is the auditor’s refusal to acknowledge the department’s remarkable performance for one of its largest and most astoundingly complex eligibility programs: Medicaid.”

DWS accuracy rates for Medicaid were 96.7 percent with no questioned costs. Other programs audited showed similarly impressive results. Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) had an accuracy rate of 97.5 percent. Third Party Liability had an accuracy rate of 98.3 percent and zero questioned costs.

Additionally, the auditor inexplicably made no mention that the Department improved its questioned costs in every program but one from the previous year, TANF being the only exception with just over $100 more in questioned costs than the previous year. In most cases, these programs demonstrate long-term improvement in questioned costs since 2010.

“DWS values the opportunity any audit provides for improvement,” said Pierpont. “We will continue to work with the State Auditor’s Office and welcome all recommendations.”

The press release specifically addressed two programs: CHIP and WIA. Click here to read the responses.